The present invention is directed to the field of storage rack systems. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an improved locking apparatus for preventing the disengagement of individual beam end plate connectors from vertical supporting frame columns in modular frame storage rack systems.
Modular frame storage rack assemblies are constructed around a plurality of vertical frame columns, each frame column having one or more lines of supporting notches positioned up and down the height of the column. The notches are generally tapered, having an upside-down tear drop shape making the notches wider near the top than at the bottom. Storage rack beams are positioned transversely between the columns and bear the weight of stored loads. The end of each beam typically includes an end plate connector having two or more studs on it for engaging the notches of a vertical frame column. Each stud has a base portion coupled directly to one surface of the end plate connector and a head portion distal to and having a substantially larger diameter than the base.
To engage a notch and secure the rack beam to a frame column, each stud""s head must have a diameter small enough to enter its respective notch near the notch""s top portion. Each stud""s head must also have a diameter that is sufficiently large to be unable to leave the notch""s bottom portion. The diameter of the base of each stud must be small enough to enter either the notch""s top or bottom portion. During engagement, the head of each stud passes entirely through the top portion of a corresponding notch, leaving only the base portion still surrounded by the notch. Being sufficiently narrow to enter the notch""s bottom portion, the base allows the stud to slide downward under the force of gravity while the stud""s head remains extended past the notch. Once the stud enters the bottom portion of the notch, the stud""s head remains posed beyond a surface of the frame column that is distal to the end plate connector. However, being of a larger diameter than the bottom notch portion, the stud""s head cannot pass back through or withdraw laterally from the notch. So long as the studs are not forced to slide back up to the top portion of their corresponding notches, the heads of each stud continue to lock the end plate connector and rack beam in place.
Normally, the weight of such a typical storage rack beam combined with any borne load is sufficient to prevent upward movement of the studs, allowing the end plate connectors to remain securely in place. There are however, certain situations in which the studs may become disengaged by an accidental or unintended upward force. Such forces are frequently exerted during the loading or unloading of loads, during storage rack construction or reconfiguration, or when adjacent storage racks or loads come into contact with another storage rack or load. As a result, appropriate locking mechanisms must often be constructed to be able to withstand an upwards force of 1,000 pounds or more.
Previous locking apparatuses have included simple bolts, pinning devices, snaps, and spacers. Such devices achieve the result of securing a storage rack in place and are normally economical and reliable. However, many of these apparatuses require a great deal of manual labor to individually position, secure, and then ascertain that the devices have been properly engaged, often requiring the use of additional tools. The same manual labor must then be later exerted during disassembly. Such manual labor also presents an added risk that an accidental upwards and unlocking force may be exerted by a user during assembly or disassembly, posing an additional safety hazard for users or other persons who may be in the vicinity of the storage rack.
Other previous locking apparatuses have incorporated automatic engaging mechanisms coupled to the end plate connector. In these apparatuses, the locking function occurs automatically once a stud""s base slides downward and enters the lower portion of a notch. Most often, a single spring-loaded pin or tab is automatically depressed upon the studs"" entry into the notches of a frame column. As the stud slides downward, the spring-loaded pin or tab encounters a notch or another corresponding aperture in the frame column, allowing the pin or tab to depress and enter the aperture, locking the studs and end plate connector in place.
While these previous devices eliminate the need to manually secure storage beams in place after configuration, they typically suffer from a number of inherent disadvantages. Among existing designs, some fail to eliminate the need for an additional tool during either assembly or disassembly. In other automatic locking devices that do eliminate the need for additional tools, construction costs are significantly higher, making the devices cost-prohibitive for mass production. Such designs also frequently require the use of a costly external housing assembly for containing a spring or other tension device. When such an arrangement is used, a single locking pin may be limited to linear movement, which may in turn require the use of more than one finger by the user for effecting release of the locking mechanism. For example, such an apparatus might require that a knob be grabbed on the locking pin rather than merely flicking a lever. In some past designs that have permitted simpler levered operation using one finger, such as with a spring tab, there have been significant problems encountered with the spring tabs breaking, becoming loose, or falling off of their respective end plate connectors.
The present invention is an automatic locking apparatus for releasably locking together a studded end plate connector to a notched vertical frame column of a storage rack. The automatic lock includes a vertical lever adjacent to one surface of the end plate connector when installed on the end plate connector. A locking pin and tension support extend from the inside face of the vertical lever through the end plate connector. The tension support has a protruding end extending past the end plate connector and a tension device mounted on the protruding end to create a force for pulling the inside face of the vertical lever toward the surface of the end plate connector. Studs, which are more aptly described as overlapping connectors, extend from the plate connector, The locking pin has a length that allows it to extend through the top of a notch or other aperture in the frame column when studs of the end plate connector are positioned in the bottom of their corresponding notches in the frame column, with material extending from the distal end of the stud overlapping material from the frame, preventing withdrawal of the studs from the notches. The locking pin is further mounted to automatically retract as the end plate connector comes into contact with the frame column and to automatically lock after the studs slide into the bottom of their corresponding notches. The end plate connector can later be disconnected from the vertical column by pulling on the vertical lever to withdraw the locking pin, allowing the studs to slide up from the bottom of the notches.
Various other features, advantages and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art after reading the following specification. This invention does not reside in any one of the features of the automatic lock disclosed above and in the following Detailed Description of the Preferred Embodiments and claimed below. Rather, this invention is distinguished from the prior art by its particular combination of features which are disclosed. Important features of this invention have been described below and shown in the drawings to illustrate the best mode contemplated to date of carrying out this invention.
Those skilled in the art will realize that this invention is capable of embodiments which are different from those shown and described below and that the details of the structure of this automatic lock can be changed in various manners without departing from the scope of this invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description below are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and are not to restrict the scope of this invention. The claims are to be regarded as including such equivalent automatic locks as do not depart from the spirit and scope of this invention.